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Level
I is our entry level for dogs over the age of 4 ½ - 5 months. This
course is taught using "correction and praise" methods. The dogs
are taught to work out of love and respect and for praise, not for treats!
We teach dog owners to gain the respect and control of their dogs. Remember
we are dealing with a different species here, they do not rationalize,
and they are not going to change their behaviour because you say "please"!
The only way (in our professional opinion) to change unwanted behaviour,
is to correct it consistently, and praise the desired behaviour, consistently.
Our dogs don't work for treats, so praise is important, don't be cheap
with it! Level I is also the level where we deal with a lot of "problem
dogs". These dogs usually come to us just before they are going to be
euthanized! We are their last hope! We take that responsibility seriously!
These dogs may have problems such as "dog aggression", "people aggression",
"fear aggression", "protest problems" etc. All are very serious problems
and must be dealt with seriously! On the other hand we have had people
call us with problems such as housebreaking, digging, chewing, barking,
etc. These problems, although not so serious in a life threatening respect,
are every bit as frustrating to the owner and detrimental to the relationship
between our two very different species. We take pride in our problem
solving abilities, but our work is only as good as the owner's dedication
to put it to use!
If you do the work, you'll see the results.
- Level I Obedience is six, one-hour sessions, the classes are once per week for six weeks, one hour at a time.
- The basic exercises that are taught in Level I include: heel, sit and sit-stay, down and down-stay, stand and stand for examination, recall (come when they're called!), and the finish exercise. This is the exercise that brings them from the front to the heel position. It is the finishing exercise to the recall. The course also includes many different concentrated heeling exercises and dog association exercises. This level may include one or more dogs with aggression problems. Some of the additional exercises include; different speeds of heeling, figure eight work, (using people and dogs as markers), weaving exercises, (both with markers and people and dogs), and circle work. All of our stay exercises are "proofed", that is sit-stays must be held while balls and Frisbees are flying around them, down-stays must be held while instructors and handlers step over them, and the stand for examination demands that the stand stay be held while the instructors examine your dog from tip to tail. Sound impossible? It's not, it really is done by average dogs, and yes, even problem dogs, all the time!